Leylani
Leylani was the 971st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 263 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,320 places. More babies were named Leylani in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning heavenly lei; royal child (via Leilani) · Hawaiian
Say it lay-LAH-nee /leɪˈlɑni/
- Rank in 2025
- #971 girls, up 250 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 263girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2025263 babies
- Total since 1880
- 2,615babies recorded
What does the name Leylani mean?
Leylani is an American respelling of the Hawaiian name Leilani. Leilani joins lei 'garland, lei', also used for a beloved child, with lani 'sky, heaven' or 'royal, exalted', and is usually read as 'heavenly lei' or 'royal child'. The spelling with y is not Hawaiian, since the Hawaiian alphabet has no y; it shows the 'lay' sound of the first syllable. Leylani appears in US birth records from the late 1990s.
lei (Hawaiian, “lei, garland; (figuratively) a child”)lani (Hawaiian, “sky, heaven; royal”)
How sure is this? Probable. The respelling is undocumented in dictionaries; the meaning is that of Leilani.
Related names: Leilani, Lailani, Lani.
See also: Hawaiian names, names that mean king or queen, names that mean sky, star, moon or sun.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Leilani' (Hawaiian section), Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wiktionary, entry 'lani' (Hawaiian section), Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Lorrin Andrews, A Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language, rev. H. H. Parker (1922), s.v. 'introduction, 'The Hawaiian alphabet'', Board of Commissioners of Public Archives, Honolulu (public domain; Internet Archive scan)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (usage history only), US Social Security Administration
Nicknames for Leylani
The usual nicknames for Leylani are Lani. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Leylani in the last five years, 44 were named Lani, against 606 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lani · also for Naylani, Leilani, Kehlani | Modern | #1,603 | 522 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Leylanis go by each one.
Leylani popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #971 | 263 |
| 2020 | #1,221 | 188 |
| 2010 | #2,886 | 60 |
| 2000 | #12,576 | 7 |
| 1990 | — | — |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Leylani, counting every spelling?
Leylani is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #863 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #971 for Leylani on its own. Together these spellings went to 300 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leylani | 263 | #971 | 1,178 |
| Leylanie | 17 | #6,712 | 98 |
| Leylany | 15 | #7,345 | 84 |
| Leylanni | 5 | #16,292 | 26 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Leylani?
263 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Leylani (0.07 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Leylani born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 32 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Leylani.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Leylani?
About 2,600 people born in the US named Leylani are alive today, with a median age of 6; half are between 3 and 11. That makes Leylani a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Leylani by state
How common Leylani was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Texas (2.1×), Arizona (2.1×), Illinois (1.9×), California (1.6×). In 29 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Leylani: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Leylani, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Leylani · Sibling names for Leylani
Questions about the name Leylani
What does Leylani mean?
Leylani means “heavenly lei; royal child (via Leilani)” (Hawaiian origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Leylani?
Leylani was the 971st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 263 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,320 places. More babies were named Leylani in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Leylani a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Leylani in the US.
Where is Leylani most popular?
In 2021–2025, Leylani was most common in Texas (0.31 per 1,000 girls), followed by Arizona and Illinois.